


HIT THE TARGET

by lila_luscious1



Category: Grey's Anatomy, Marina-fandom, Station 19 (TV), Surrera-fandom, VICLEY-fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Combat-related Stress, F/M, Marital Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:00:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lila_luscious1/pseuds/lila_luscious1
Summary: On January 13, 2013, the Department of Defense released the military’s suicide statistics for 2012, andthe numbers only confirm what the individual months had been predicting throughout the year: the suiciderate among military personnel is skyrocketing. Three hundred and forty-nine United States soldiers committedsuicide after returning from combat in 2012. That is almost one soldier, each and every day, killing his orherself because of stresses that have become too much for many to endure.INCLUDES SURRERA/SULLVANDY, VICLEY (MARINA & TRAVMETT TO FOLLOW)
Relationships: Andrea Herrera/Robert Sullivan, Maya Bishop & Carina DeLuca, Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley
Comments: 15
Kudos: 21





	1. POOR WANDERING ONE

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LeesyLovesBathenaAndVicley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeesyLovesBathenaAndVicley/gifts), [Bacner](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bacner/gifts), [julrenda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julrenda/gifts), [Gasnina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gasnina/gifts), [CSW1420](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSW1420/gifts), [KyHasNoLife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyHasNoLife/gifts), [musicgirl1120](https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicgirl1120/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Former Marine Recon sniper Robert Sullivan convinces his closest friend Lucas  
> Ripley to attend the Seattle Veterans Administration to address anxiety, PTSD,  
> (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and other combat-related issues affecting their  
> professional and personal lives.

_DAY 4: still no sign of the target. Four days (actually FIVE, including the time hiking in from where he dropped in) of wearing the_  
_same uni and eating cold food from it's zip-locked bag...of blistering heat and dark, cold nights...and endless hours of WAITING..._  
_in the middle of the afternoon, The Target appeared: a door in one of the dwellings opened and two men stepped out. Sullivan acquired a_  
_a 'sight picture' (sights on his targets through his sniper scope) just as a boy of about 10 or 11 exits next. A satchel is passed between the trio_  
_and the Special Forces Operator comes to a jarring and unsettling conclusion: The Target is a pre-pubescent child. A child that can't be allowed_  
_to leave this compound...the choice is MONSTROUS and if he does this...each time he squeezes the trigger a small piece of him dies: he isn't_  
_the man he once was, and he will never be. The boy is about to leave and he has been tasked with not allowing that to happen: his eye screwed to_  
_the scope: tighter than before, and when his finger gently manipulates the trigger another small piece of Robert Gustav Martin Sullivan dies...it_  
_doesn't go quietly..._

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"They don't get it. None of them...it's a fucking joke this 'Thank you for your service' bullshit...they don't even fuckin' mean it half the time!" Kyle Jenner,  
who Robert Sullivan talked down in the military surplus incident (and testified for afterward in Seattle's 'Veteran's Court') speaks out angrily. The other  
Men and Women in the room nod; some mutter curse words under their breaths. Kyle says "What we did...I told my brother once about the time a  
woman and baby were caught in a crossfire between us and the Taliban...we sent a Medic over, Specialist Jackson. El Tee radios back to request a Medivac  
which they denied...told us to press to the objective', which we did. Of course, the woman and kid didn't make it...Jack killed himself two weeks after."  
He looked at me-my brother did-like I was some sort of monster...a devil. From then on I never told another civilian about shit I did over there.

"Goddamn" a female group member (ex-Air Force) whispered loudly. "I learned not say a fucking SYLLABLE about anything I saw or did over there." 

"It's the _way_ they look at you. The 'who the fuck are you' look'. Because the guilt seeps through your pores or its all over your face somehow  
The shit that you did...the shit that you couldn't STOP. You can push shit that deep down inside for only so long before it manifests in inappropriate ways.  
Is anyone's children scared of them?" Sullivan raises his hand as he asks this.

Everyone in the room raises their hand except TWO: a young brunette says "I don't have children but my nephews find the cleverest excuses not to visit."  
The other attendee, a Vet of the Somali raid, says quietly "My kids are 20 and 18, and I haven't seen 'em in"...his goes blank..."I don't remember."

Sully said "My little ones doesn't run to meet me anymore: I 'blank' and shove them off my lap, or combat crouch....can't seem to stop myself."

An ex-Marine named Brian says "I scream at 'em for the smallest shit. Clacking their building blocks too loudly. Or singing along with the TV. I'm fuckin'  
on edge with them, and I HATE THAT SHIT!"

"I did that a lot before my Behavioral Health Doc changed up my mood stabilizers and shit", another group member says.

Sully: “For real?

“Yeah, Main! I was taking three different ones at bedtime-THREE DIFFERENT ONES-now it’s just one."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up, it's a bad dream No one on my side  
I was fighting But I just feel too tired to be fighting  
Guess I'm not the fighting kind

~KEANE BAD DREAM~

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Two days later at the VA a therapist attends the session (as many Veterans became over-wrought at the previous meeting).

Robert Sullivan suddenly-MISERABLY-says "I shot a kid-I smoked a ten-year-old kid." He follows THAT with a bitter half-choke, half-laugh: "Beautiful shot."

"Fuck".

"Aw, Man..."

"I'm sorry Brother."

"Are you okay?" asks the young ex-Air Force woman.

Robert shakes his head no. "I dream about him every night almost."

"My dreams are about that family", the Vet from before says. "They were alive under there-I could hear them. We shoulda dug 'em out; we shoulda."

An attendee sitting nearby slings an arm around his shoulders. "You're good, Brother-you're OK."

“Is everyone aware that you’re entitled to no-cost therapy through the VA?”, the therapist asks." I'll leave some pamphlets and business cards on the table  
here in front for those who would like more personalized sessions in addition to these talks."

There's a sign-up list for couples counseling, which Sullivan puts Andrea and himself on, and he requests that Dr. Blanton review his anxiety and nightmare Rx.

Later, during his telephone conversation with Lucas Ripley, Rip asks: "I should go to the next group hmm?"

"I think that you should, Rip-it's helped me."

"I served in the Australian Defence Force though, Sul."

"I checked, man. You're a US citizen and a VET. The SFD pays for any care."

"I don't have an option, to be frank: Vic made it clear that unless I do something and SOON our marriage is over. I grabbed her in the night a few weeks ago  
during a nightmare. She's had enough."

Sullivan can sympathize: "I've done that...Andy's kinda afraid to sleep in the same bed. My Son...he's ...he has a frightened look when he sees me.I'll do anything  
to take that fear away." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Where will I meet my fate? Baby I'm a man, I was born to hate  
And when will I meet my end? In a better time you could be my friend  
~KEANE BAD DREAM~

  


_Rodney_


	2. BAD DREAM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Per the songwriters the song is based on a poem by W.B.Yeats, called “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death”;  
> and from having lots of empathy of young people going off to war and coming back horribly changed in  
> ways that can never be undone. My brother says that once you see it it can never be unseen-you return  
> from that experience a dead man/woman still walking upright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~KEANE/"BAD DREAM"©

Where will I meet my fate?-Baby, I'm a (wo)man; I was born to hate  
And when will I meet my end? In a better time you could be my friend  
I wake up, it's a bad dream-No one on my side-I was fighting  
But I just feel too tired to be fighting-Guess I'm not the fighting kind

~KEANE/"BAD DREAM"~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*MAYA BISHOP*

Inside the office of Diane Lewis, the psychologist notices right away that her patient is less jovial and more despondent than usual. When Diane naturally  
asks why, Maya sighs deeply and replies "When I compare my trauma to that of combat veterans like Ripley or Sullivan, mine seems insignificant. They  
are suffering so much; Andy and Vic don't know what to do, how to help them: at least Carina lived through similar circumstances; she has a frame of  
reference."

"I see...I'll answer that by stating that ALL TRAUMA has value...I wouldn't measure one person's against another's as the degrees and circumstances of  
each person's experiences don't make them comparable. You compare them at your peril."

"How can I NOT? The stress of being on alert every second of every minute of every hour etc must have been crippling. I have two cousins-both Marines, went  
over twice. They're not the same guys-they're angry, and have turned into drunks. That sounded judgemental and I don't mean it to be. I know that both were  
sweet guys who never used alcohol before joining the military. Davey has been arrested at least twice. Dickie I believe once."

"Maya. I say again I have been traumatized: I've told others-I don't recall if I ever mentioned what I'm about to say to you, but anyway...I endured a sexual  
assault when I was seventeen. As bad as that was, was it worse than YOURS? Do you see? Trauma is trauma; some more severe than others and all just as  
valuable as the next.. do you see?" It starts to rain, and Diane offers tea. They watch the spattering of rain against the window panes and drink their tea. Then   
the fire Captain takes a deep shuddering breath and drops a bombshell:

" **I think Lane Bishop touched me when I was a kid**."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up, it's a bad dream-No one on my side  
I was fighting-But I just feel too tired to be fighting  
Guess I'm not the fighting kind-Wouldn't mind it  
If you were by my side...

~KEANE/"BAD DREAM"~

" **SHIT! RPG-GET DOWN; FUCKING GET DOWN! DOW-**!"

"Lucas! It's me-It's VIC! You're here with me", she soothes, her heart hammering even as she takes him by the shoulders and talks to him gently until  
his eyes snap open." See? You're not in Afghanistan; it's us here together... _shhhh...shhhh_ you're fine. It's gonna be fine." Even as the words  
leave her mouth her mind counters _WILL HE though_?...

There are only a few hours until daybreak: fitful hours spent half-dozing turning and tossing...at 0700 they rise and collect their son who is already awake  
At the breakfast table, Victoria spooned oatmeal into Matty's mouth and said "CALL, Lucas."

Crankily, he responds "Yeah, yeah." He's on the list for that evening's session, which he reports to his wife. It's worth a try-right?"

He smiles then. "It is. Anything for my family."

He plays with his son for an hour, then drives to HQ. There he calls Robert Sullivan and Executive Assistant Julia Karr into his office. "Sul: I'd like to brain-  
storm some ideas for an addendum to the leave policy for military veterans. The rank and file don't have the same freedom that you and I, snd others here  
at HQ have to attend VA counseling unless its an 'off day'. I want to rectify that."

"Excellent. Jules we'll need a list of all known current and previous active duty and National Guard members and their schedules. Then put out a question-  
naire to those on the list asking who would find VA counseling helpful."

Ripley adds "Ask to what degree they feel that such services would benefit them."

They spend another thirty minutes discussing additional changes, then the two men leave for the downtown VA facility.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before the meeting begins, facilitator Dr. Phil Donovan makes this announcement:

"Good evening, everyone. I'm Dr. Philip Branson. I'm board-certified in anxiety disorders and all therapies related to PTSD. I'm also a veteran-one tour  
Iraq and Afghanistan each, and so I bring a unique perspective to the proceedings that most other VA therapists do not.

I co-authored a study two and a half years ago addressing our battle-buddies returning from overseas combat often struggle with trauma-related psycho-  
logical distress that can affect their daily lives and particularly those who re-enter higher-learning arenas. Unique mental health burdens present barriers  
cause student veterans to show lower academic achievement and to be at higher risk of dropping out of college".

(Sullivan and Ripley record the session sol that their partners can listen to it later.)

"Many if not ALL of you present are not surprised by what I'm saying: you have experienced it first-hand. Returning veterans with psychological  
trauma often experience recurrent or involuntary memories, flashbacks, and negative alterations in mood. The authors write that student veterans may  
have difficulty relating to others, and may perceive student peers as immature and/or their comments as disrespectful. KNOWING these things is one  
thing-NAMING them I've found helps as well. We may now have a way to explain to non-vets why we are the way we are in ways that assist in their  
understanding. I'd like to go ahead and open up the floor; after there are hand-outs and URLs for reference reading."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up, it's a bad dream-No one on my side  
I was fighting-But I just feel too tired to be fighting  
Guess I'm not the fighting kind

~KEANE/"BAD DREAM"~

**Author's Note:**

> The Veterans Court is a part of most large city's court systems to service the needs of  
> Vets who may run-into legal trouble and may have mitigating circumstances that  
> led them to break the law: PTSD, anxiety or rage issues, to name a few. A Judge assisted  
> by a Veteran's representative is better able to make decisions on each case and has access  
> to each Vet's medical file via the Veterans' Administration.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbLoYVnh4sY  
> ~KEANE "BAD DREAM"~


End file.
